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Thursday, February 8, 2018

12 Ways APC Wants Nigeria To Be Restructured,among Is Merging & State Creation

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Committee on True Federalism has
tabled twelve issues for discussion during the public hearings on
restructuring scheduled to commence on Septemeber 18, 2017 in various
parts of the country.

Besides, the committee said it will consult
the report of the 2005 Political Reforms Conference, the 2014 National
Confab and reports of previous national conferences in its assignment to
determine the party’s position on restructuring.

The Secretary of the Committee, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, unfolded the 12-point agenda at a news conference in Abuja.

According
to him, the public hearing which will hold in Benin, Enugu and Ibadan
will end with a meeting with civil society organisations and
professional groups in Abuja on October 9.

Adetunmbi said the committee met four times and identified 12 key issues for discussion during the public hearing.

He
said: “Accordingly, and pursuant to its mandate, the Committee met,
deliberated and listed out the following issues and called for memoranda
from members of the public.

“The 12 issues Nigerians will have opportunity to air their views on are:1. Creation/merger of states and the framework and guidelines for achieving that

2. Derivation principle bordering on what percentage of federal collectible revenue should be given back

3.
Devolution of powers on what item on the exclusive legislative list
should be transferred to the recurrent list and federating units,
especially state and community police, prisons

4. Federation Units: Should Nigeria be based on regions or zones or 36-state structure

5. Fiscal federalism and revenue allocation.

6. Form of government (parliamentary or presidential)

7. Independent candidacy.

8. Land tenure system.

9. Local government autonomy.

10. Power sharing and rotation

11. Resource control; and

12. Type of legislature.

Adetunmbi
said contributions would not be limited to members of the party, but to
all Nigerians who have something meaningful to say on the development
of the country.

“We must recognise that the work of nation
building is an ongoing process in which every stakeholder has a role to
play, by making his own contribution. In this case, the APC as a
national political party is an institution and a stakeholder that has a
role to play in making its own contribution.

“This exercise is
its own way of making that contribution. The APC felt that it is not
necessary to think alone among ourselves, but to also ask members of the
public what they think. That is why everything this Committee is doing
is not about its own opinion, but harvesting the opinion of the ordinary
people in order to form an opinion. After all, no political party
exists just by itself, but by the mandate of people.

“In this
regard, we have put up an announcement calling on members of the public
to submit memorandum and meet us at designated venues without any
discrimination. So, it is an open invitation to all Nigerians to attend
and make their views and voices to count.